Project Name: Hutong Miami

Location: Florida

Date Completed: 2019

Interior Designer: Norberto Rosenstein Architect, Inc.

The design of Hutong Miami was inspired by the fascinating art scene in Miami and the aesthetic qualities of Chinese design, where vibrant pop-art colours offset traditional Chinese architectural elements. This then creates a real feeling of a contemporary Chinese restaurant in the lively city of Miami. Craftsmanship and technology establish the aesthetic quality of the restaurant’s design.

Upon entering the restaurant guests are welcomed to the main dining room which walls have a total of fifteen thousand stacked Chinese clay roof tiles. The twenty-seven-foot tall open ceiling room is surrounded by thirty-five thousand grey antique bricks from a 1930s Chinese building. The restaurant counts with a total of a hundred and thirty-six seats. At the end of the dining room, twenty-foot tall wooden dynasty lattice screens, hand-carved and embellished with intricate designs, separate the main space from the private dining area. The restaurant’s unique element is a seventy-foot long 3-Dimensional wall of hand-carved wood doors and panels. As night sets, the “Great Wall” pulsates with a display of colour and light.

The unique element of the restaurant is the seventy-foot long 3-Dimensional wall of hand-carved wood doors and panels. The panels and doors were designed and hand-crafted using models and proportions after the Qing dynasty from China. This manual technique comes together with the state-of-the-art technology of vibrant pop-art colours and light juxtaposing Chinese traditional building techniques and Miami’s art scene. This provides a unique experience to the visitors by immersing them in the traditional Chinese and contemporary Miami culture. This cultural encounter surpasses the culinary focus of the place, offering a taste of beauty and outstanding design.  

In the design of Hutong Miami, traditional Chinese design elements merge with the contemporary setting of Miami to offer the user a cultural taste of China and Miami simultaneously. The craftsmanship, handcrafting, and technology implemented in the design and construction of Hutong Miami are unique elements of this restaurant. They not only contribute to the project’s originality but also with its functionality and beauty.